


Here's The Deal

by Gravestone_Monarch



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Bad Scottish accent writing lol, Brief mentions of Hat Kid, I'm Bad At Tagging, It's 3:48am I'm gonna sleep, M/M, Post-Game(s), Pre-Relationship, The Snatcher is chaotic, bye enjoy, discotrain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:21:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25562764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gravestone_Monarch/pseuds/Gravestone_Monarch
Summary: The Snatcher finally decides to make a contract with one of the directors. Play God a bit.But not in the way he used the Hat Kid to do his chores.Today, he felt mischievous.
Relationships: The Conductor/DJ Grooves (A Hat in Time)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 98





	Here's The Deal

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Discotrain fic so sorry if the characters are a bit ooc! I just wanted to write a Scottish accent and we ended up here lol  
> Set where DJ Grooves won the awards (I haven't even played that version yet, it just works better for the story)  
> Hope you enjoy!

It had been a normal day for DJ Grooves. He had just finished the grand finale of his movie for the Annual Bird Awards, and tomorrow it was on to editing. He didn't edit himself, but he had taken to supervising the editing, after a few mishaps with the first few movies.

Now, it was 11pm. The Moon Penguins had already gone home, and he was sure the Express Owls had too. The Conductor, however, he wasn't sure of.

The penguin was just packing away his stuff, ready to head home for the night, when all too suddenly, the room got colder. Much colder. The shadows in the corners of the room almost seemed to close in.

"I- what the-?" He muttered. 

Suddenly, a figure emerged. Golden yellow eyes stared at him; staring into his soul, one might say. The figure was grinning, cackling through his smile.

"HAHAHAHA! Goooood evening, DJ! Fancy seeing you here." He said.

"I- Snatcher? From Subcon Forest?" He asked, taking off his sunglasses to see better in the now pitch black room.

"You got it!"

"What are you doing in my room, darlin'? How'd you even get in?" He found himself asking, surprised at how logical he was being. Don't tell the Conductor, but he has a crippling fear of ghosts.

"Walls and doors ain't much of an issue for the dead, Grooves. And, I'm here to strike a deal with ya!"

The last time he'd heard that, a shady record company had scammed him out of his money. As the Conductor would say, _"Buncha peck-necks!"_

Wow, Connie sure was on his mind a lot tonight, huh?

_Wait._

"I'm taking your silence as the signal to keep speaking." Snatcher said, settling a bit further down so he wasn't looming over the penguin anymore. "I'm gonna keep this short and sweet, so listen up. All I want from you is… wait for it-!"

"Get to the point, Snatcher." He found himself snapping.

"Yeesh, so impatient. All I want is control of your mortal body for 1 hour! Simple!" 

Grooves didn't respond for a moment. He was rather fond of controlling his own body, thank you very much. He didn't feel like sharing with some peck neck ghost.

"...thanks for the offer, darling, but I'd rather not. What would you even need my own body for, anyways? What would I gain from it?" He asked, sitting back down. His legs were close to giving out on him.

"What _you_ would get is the privilege of not having the world know about your little… _late-night endeavour_ with the kid. Y'know, the _stabby_ one."

Grooves went silent.

"Listen, penguin. There are about four people who know what happened that night. You, the kid, the Conductor, and _me._ If the word got out you tried to kill a kid over a stupid hourglass-! Well, let's say that'd be a hard blow to your reputation."

Still silent, DJ Grooves contemplated. He knew the figure was right. The kid had forgiven him, sure, and the Conductor had only really told him off (too drunk to care much) but he knew the general public wouldn't be as forgiving.

Besides, that was a part of himself he was trying to forget.

"That sure got your attention, huh? Great!" The Snatcher said smugly, summoning a contract and quill out of thin air. "Remember, it's just one hour. One hour to protect your biggest secret. Just sign at the bottom."

Flipper almost shaking, he took the quill. 

It was only one hour.

Then he'd be back to normal.

Hopefully still alive.

Signing his name with his usual flourish (out of habit), the deal was set.

"Happy doing business with you, kid. Sweet dreams!"

"Wait, excuse me-?!"

And suddenly, the world went dark for DJ Grooves.

He was rudely awoken the next morning by his alarm. After turning it off, he sat up, holding his head. What happened last night..?

Oh, right. The Snatcher.

It struck him rather quickly that he had no idea what he'd done while being controlled by the ghost. That was concerning.

Had he hurt anyone? Had he let some secret of his slip? What had he done?

Well, no time to dwell on it now. He had to get to the studio!

It wasn't long before he found out what he'd done.

He stepped into DBS, greeting the receptionist as he entered. Just as he took a pair of sunglasses from the machine (he always needed a spare) the Conductor came storming out of his half of the studio.

They locked eyes. (Or at least, Grooves assumed they did. It was kinda hard to tell.) 

"G-good morning, darli-"

" **_Don't!_ **"

The Conductor stormed over and grabbed Grooves by the wrist (er, upper flipper I guess) and dragged him away, over to the western half of the studio and into the former's office.

Upon arrival, he shoved Grooves into a conveniently placed chair, instantly pacing around.

"Whatcha think yer playin' at, DJ Grrrrooves?!" He cried, rolling the R in Grooves.

"I-I don't quite understand, darling."

"Don't quite- quit it with yer lies! T'was only last night, no peckin' way ye forgot that quickly!"

He debated just telling the Conductor what happened, but ultimately decided against it. He probably wouldn't believe him. Not yet, anyways.

"I-I'm sorry, Conductor, I just don't remember." He said feebly, almost intimidated by the bird in front of him.

What even was the Conductor, anyway? Owl? Chocobo? He'd never know.

"Don't remember?! DON'T REMEMBER?!" The Conductor yelled, probably loud enough for the Express Owls to hear them. Heck, maybe even the Moon Penguins.

"What, did ye get piss drunk?! News flash, peck neck, that's my job, not yours!"

He sighed, seemingly calmed down a bit after his… well, outburst. He dragged over a chair, sitting down and crossing one leg over the other. The Conductor's posture was always more classy than the DJ's.

One of the many things he admired about the bird.

"Well, if yah just gonna sit there and play dumb, I may as well regale ye of the tale… of you being a peckin' moron!"

Oh god, what had he done?

"O-ok, darling… tell me everything."

He could have sworn he heard something like _don't 'darling' me_.

"What was that-?"

" _Nothing!_ " The Conductor retorted, clearing his throat.

"Now, it had ta be around… what, 11:15? Sure, some'n like that. I was working on me new film, like I usually do, when ye came knocking on me door. I told ye to leave, because I was tired as peck, but ya just kept knocking. So, 'ventually, I let ye in."

Grooves just nodded. They had both calmed down a bit, giving Grooves a chance to realise this was the first time in ages they had sat down and had a civil conversation.

...well, _civil_ was a loose term.

"So, ye come in, and I ask ye what ye want. And, you said…" the Conductor stopped for a second, gripping the bridge of what Grooves could only assume was his nose.

"Wh-what did I say?" Grooves asked, almost scared for the answer.

"...I asked, what did ye want. And ye said… ye said _you._ "

Behind his sunglasses, Grooves' eyes widened.

_Snatcher, what the peck did you have me do last night?!_

"Oh…" was all he said.

"Ohohohoh, I ain't done! Because you wanna know what ye did next?!"

"Only slightly-"

"Ye pinned me against the pecking wall! And not in a _there's a secret camera set up in here, I'm using this for footage_ way, in a- in a- I don't even know the word!"

"F-flirty..?" He hated the word as soon as it left his mouth. Conductor nodded.

"Sure, that. God, I'd never seen ye like that before. Not even wearing ye sunglasses, like pecking usual."

_Didn't even have the decency to put my sunglasses back on, ghost? Scandalous._

"And- ye said things, Grooves. Romantic things. Saying how- how ye thought I was pretty- by the way, never lie to my face again- complimentin' me movies, me train… like it wasn't yerself."

"..." 

He wasn't really sure how to respond. Did he want to confess yet?

He knew he liked the man, that much was certain in his head. He was loud, and hotheaded, and just everything he liked in a man. And his movies were surprisingly gripping, despite being the same thing almost every time. But he knew well enough that they had a rivalry going. The Conductor wouldn't see him like that.

Still, he'd kick himself later if he kept this bottled up.

"I didn't lie to you, darling. At all."

"I- what?"

"Haha… it's almost funny, darling."

"Eh? What is?"

"Some stupid Subcon ghost comes and possesses me for an hour, just to make me come confess and go home. Laughable, really."

He didn't look at the Conductor. He stared at the ceiling avoiding the gaze he knew was burning into him.

"Possesed? What the peck- did ye just say Subcon? Ye mean, the creepy old forest beside Mafia Town?"

"Mhmm."

"So…" The Conductor trailed off, clearly putting everything together. Grooves still didn't meet his eyes. Until, however, he said in a tiny voice,

"So… ye didn't mean any of it?"

He finally made eye contact with the yellow bird again.

"What? I mean- yes, I did darling, but I know you don't feel the same about me, it's fine-"

He was cut off by the Conductor walking over and pulling DJ Grooves to his feet, before grabbing his coat.

"Oh shut up, ye pecking fool."

And he dragged Grooves down, their lips meeting in between. (Well, I say lips. Beaks is probably more accurate)

Grooves, although startled at first, quickly sinks into it, adjusting to the Conductor's rough affection quickly.

He hadn't been expecting this to be where he'd end up when he signed a contract.

He certainly wasn't complaining.

Outside the door, a purple hand reaches out from the shadows to place a _Do Not Disturb_ sign on the door of the room the lovebirds were in.

Another deal sealed.


End file.
